News

Bangs Throws a No-Hitter

May 9th, 2021

The season opener for the boys varsity baseball team was one for the record books. Senior captain Stephen Bangs hurled a 21 strikeout no-hitter against Beaver Country Day School.

"Stephen is probably the best pitcher in the EIL [Eastern Independent League]," said coach Chris Murphy. "His hard work and love of the game has been evident since his freshman year. He dominates the strike zone and the opposing hitters."

Offensively, Landmark bats were on fire, and the team banged out nine hits, with none bigger than Dillon Below's '23 clutch, bases-loaded, two-out double that he ripped to the fence in right-center, clearing the bags. Senior captain George Athanasiadis roped a double in his first at bat and also launched a prodigious blast over the left field fence for a home run. Jacob Karp '23 drove in a run in the first inning and Luke Graham '23 battled for two hits.

Bangs received a congratulatory letter from Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey. "You have clearly worked consistently and exceptionally hard to have reached the impressive milestone of a shutout, 21 strikeouts, and 87 pitches in 7 innings," he wrote. "I not only wanted to recognize the significance of this feat, but also the dedication, commitment, and leadership required to have reached this. You are a good example for younger players coming up in the Stoughton community and at Landmark High School!"

Bangs's no-hitter was the first for Landmark in 10 years. Coach Murphy, with the help of Scott Jamieson (Landmark's own Bill James), dusted off the record books to find that hurler Luke Crocker '11 notched a no-hitter his senior year and a perfect game in 2010, and Jake Propernick '10 threw no-hitters in 2008 and 2009. Jake returned to campus in May and posed for a picture with Stephen.